- Argentina’s Milei threatens legal action over Falklands oil project
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Argentinian President Javier Milei has threatened the British government with legal action unless it stops an oil project off the disputed Falkland Islands, the British-administered territory over which Buenos Aires claims sovereignty. Milei gave the United Kingdom a two-week ultimatum on Monday evening, saying it must halt all work on the Sea Lion oil project or Argentina will ask the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a maritime court in Hamburg, Germany, to order a stop to the project. … The UK rejects Argentina’s sovereignty claim, arguing that the islanders have the right to determine their own future and develop their natural resources.” (09/29/26)
- Spain: Regime announces ban on evictions after protests over 87-year-old woman’s removal from flat
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Spain’s coalition government has approved new housing measures following protests over the country’s housing crisis, sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home in Madrid last week. Ministers met on Tuesday to discuss the proposals, which include a ban on evictions until 2030. Announcing the measures, Health Minister Mónica García said they would bring relief to more than five million people – but opposition politician Míriam Nogueras said the agreement left ‘small landlords out in the cold’. The proposals (which have been presented in the form of two decrees) come into effect immediately, but must be approved by Congress within a month, although the government hopes to hold the vote as soon as this Friday. Pedro Sánchez’s leftist coalition government lacks a majority in parliament and has struggled to get right-leaning parties to approve previous decrees.” (09/29/26)
- Florida set to execute 77-year-old man convicted of 1995 murder
Source: SFGate
“A 77-year-old Florida man convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer is scheduled Tuesday to become the 16th person executed this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber. Curtis Wilkie Beasley was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto in a 1995 attack on Carolyn Monfort. The Florida Supreme Court last week rejected appeals that executing a man his age who is suffering from cognitive decline would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Beasley, who would become Florida’s seventh prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, is set to receive a three-drug injection at the state prison starting at 6 p.m.” (09/29/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/florida-is-set-to-execute-a-77-year-old-man-22453871.php
- Mistrial declared in Trayon White federal bribery trial
Source: United Press International
“A jury deliberating on a federal bribery charge against Trayon White, a Washington, D.C., councilmember, could not come to a unanimous decision, leading to a mistrial Monday. The jury, eight women and four women, told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that they could not agree on a decision after four days of deliberations. A meeting will take place after Oct. 14 to what happens next. … White was allegedly shown on video accepting envelopes full of cash from business owner Allieu Kamara, who reportedly said he wanted the favor of D.C. officials. White was arrested in August 2024. White and his defense attorney said that there was no crime: that White accepted money but that it was not a bribe and there was no quid pro quo. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for D.C., said she plans to retry the case.” (09/28/26)
- From motorcycles to booze, US ban on $1 billion worth of Canadian imports goes into effect
Source: SFGate
“U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles. The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of annual two-way trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another ratcheting up of President Donald Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner. … The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic beverage producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15%, 25% or 50%, matching U.S. imports dollar for dollar.” (09/29/26)
- Block US sanctions on ICC, EU lawmakers tell Commission
Source: Politico
“EU lawmakers are calling for the Commission to forbid European firms and banks from applying U.S. sanctions, as Washington weighs sanctioning the International Criminal Court over its actions concerning Israel. The U.S. has already targeted nine of the court’s judges and four prosecutors since the Netherlands-based institution issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘To protect its values, [the EU] needs to protect the ICC and the people who work there. It means … activating the blocking statute,’ said Dutch lawmaker Dirk Gotink of the center-right European People’s Party after a closed-door meeting of the economy committee on Monday evening.” (09/28/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/block-us-sanctions-on-the-icc-eu-lawmakers-tell-commission
- SpaceX brings Starship home early after first orbital flight
Source: Axios
“SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket came back to Earth earlier than planned after its first orbital flight Monday, with an explosion visible on the company’s livestream just after touchdown in the Pacific Ocean. … Starship launched from South Texas just before 9 a.m. ET on a planned test flight of about 10 hours. It was set to orbit Earth about six times before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Chile. But SpaceX decided to bring it back to Earth after only about 3 hours. As part of the mission, Starship deployed 26 of the company’s new, better-performing Starlink V3 internet satellites. The cause of the apparent explosion was not immediately clear, and the company didn’t offer any details.” (09/28/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/09/28/spacex-starship-orbital-flight
- Saudi Arabia resumes oil exports via East-West pipeline
Source: Al Arabiya [Saudi state media]
“Saudi Arabia has resumed oil exports through the main pipeline extending from the east to the west of the Kingdom. According to Bloomberg, state-run Saudi Aramco was last week testing the East-West pipeline and building pressure, with the aim of resuming meaningful flows by the weekend, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the information is not public. The resumption will restore Saudi Arabia’s access to the alternative export route that it had been using during the Iran war, even as the Kingdom has ramped up shipments through the Strait of Hormuz this month.” (09/28/26)
- Putin signs decree adding 15,500 troops to Russian army
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday boosting the size of the army by 15,500 troops in the fourth such order this year. Putin’s order comes as both Russia and Ukraine suffer mounting casualties in the more than four-and-a-half-year Ukraine war. The decree did not give a reason for the troop increase. … Putin had previously signed documents boosting the size of the army in March, June and July. The combined increase since March amounts to 47,860 soldiers. Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed this year, as widespread drone use on the front has made swift, large-scale troop movements almost impossible. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of preparing for another military call-up, a suggestion that Putin has called Ukrainian ‘disinformation’.” (09/28/26)
- Somalia: Regime troops clash with local forces for control of Baidoa
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Intense clashes have broken out in the Somali city of Baidoa between government forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regional president. Fighter jets and drones were reported as the hostilities flared on Monday in the South West State city after thousands of local fighters entered the city in the morning. Violence has plagued the city in recent weeks as the army seeks to maintain the control it wrested earlier this year. … A number of states in Somalia oppose President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. His government sent troops to oust the head of South West State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen in March. Laftagareen has repeatedly attempted to retake the area, including the administrative capital of Baidoa.” (09/28/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/28/somali-army-clashes-with-local-forces-for-control-of-baidoa
- Judge rules US regime can’t withhold counterterrorism funds from states that resist federal election rigging
Source: CNBC
“A judge on Monday vacated a Trump administration rule that would withhold 20% of federal counterterrorism funds allocated for states unless states and certain municipalities made certain changes to how they administer elections. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali said the Federal Emergency Management Agency exceeded its legal authority ‘by conditioning the counterterrorism grant funds on changes to routine election administration.’ Ali also said FEMA, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, had not shown how the desired changes to election administration related to stopping terrorism.” (09/28/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/28/elections-dhs-counterterrorism.html
- FL: Grandstanding idiot pol seeks injunction to hamper OpenAI development
Source: Politico
“Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier intensified his fight with OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman on Monday by asking a Florida court to stop the tech giant from further developing its artificial intelligence technology while their legal battle plays out. In his latest push to put guardrails around AI, Uthmeier is attempting to leverage the recent panic about the technology’s unchecked growth in Washington and beyond as proof that ChatGPT and other AI models are dangerous products. Uthmeier is seeking an injunction against OpenAI that would prevent the company from advancing new AI models without third-party approved protections, and cut off minors from using its popular chatbot.” [editor’s note: Uthmeier always wants every public discussion to be about him … except, of course, the public discussion about the embezzled taxpayer funds his PACs used to rig the 2024 election in Florida – TLK] (09/28/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/28/florida-injunction-openai-development-01095061
- NY: Alleged gang-rape case at Cornell to go before grand jury
Source: United Press International
‘The Tompkins County, N.Y., District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that it is reopening its investigation into an alleged gang-rape involving Cornell University fraternity members. The victim in the case says they were drugged and raped by multiple members of Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University in 2024. … [Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew] Van Houten noted in his statement that the victim’s original statement did not appear to require criminal charges to be filed as she ‘described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.’ However, in the decision to reopen the investigation, Van Houten said he recognized ‘the reality that it can take years of therapy and healing for victims of sexual assaults to fully process and understand what happened to them.'” [editor’s note: When something isn’t rape shortly after it happens and suddenly becomes rape years later, that’s pretty much the definition of “reasonable doubt” – TLK] (09/28/26)
- HI: Study says residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health
Source: SFGate
“Metal mixtures found in the leftover smoke, ash and debris from the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires were harmful to the lung health of people living nearby long after the burning ended, a new study says. The work shows that major wildfires, which are worsening with the planet’s warming, could have lasting effects beyond immediate exposure. Post-wildfire air quality needs to be monitored longer term, the research suggests, and recovery efforts need to consider what might remain in contaminated soot, residue and dirt well after burning stops. The wildfires, caused by wind spreading a brushfire spurred by downed power lines, burned on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023, destroyed the town of Lahaina and killed more than 100 people.” (09/28/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/residents-near-maui-wildfires-show-elevated-22453254.php
- UK: Police release five London-based men after arrests near airbase used by US
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“British police said on Monday they had released on bail five men who were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences near a British airbase used by the U.S., although they remain under investigation. Officers arrested the men in the early hours of Sunday after a tipoff that three large white vans were heading to the military airfield in west England. … The British government had given authorization to the U.S. to use bombers based at Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned Britain in July not to allow U.S. bombers to fly from Fairford, saying any base used to launch attacks would be a legitimate target. … Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in attacks or plots in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.” (09/28/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/uk-raf-fairford-incident-9.7360562
- Apple ordered to pay $5.7bn after losing vibration tech patent suit
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Apple has been ordered to pay $5.7bn (£4.3bn) in damages after a US jury found it had used another firm’s tech without permission. Audio firm Taction Technology claimed in 2021 that Apple had infringed two of its patents for haptics systems, which enable vibrations for actions such as receiving a message or pressing a button. This tech is built into devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple said it had not used Taction’s vibration tech and would appeal the verdict. ‘While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts,’ it said. ‘Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial.'” (09/28/26)
- Trump administration finalizes repeal of Biden-era Title IX rule
Source: Politico
“Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday unveiled a final regulation that seeks to restore a rule on how sexual misconduct is investigated on college campuses. The final rule, which is expected to officially publish Tuesday, comes after federal courts vacated a Biden administration regulation that sought to strengthen discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The rule ‘clears the Biden Administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX’ from federal regulations and ‘restores the commonsense language’ of the rule adopted during the first Trump administration, which the second Trump administration has been enforcing, McMahon said in a statement.” (09/28/26)
- North Korean regime uses UN platform to lament “mutual distrust” and tension
Source: SFGate
“North Korea used its yearly U.N. platform on Monday to warn other world leaders of ‘a harsh reality rampant with unprecedented mutual distrust and confrontation,’ but said that it would endure and, in a multilateral world, ‘surely attain all that we plan to, relying entirely on our own efforts.’ It was, by Pyongyang’s standards, a relatively mild speech that contained no direct threats. The annual opportunity for the country, whose formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to speak on the world stage fell this year to Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong. Like many nations, he touted the notion of U.N.-focused multilateralism, yet repeatedly insisted that North Korea could — and would, if necessary — go it alone.” (09/28/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/in-a-relatively-mild-speech-north-korea-uses-un-22453227.php
- Accused drug lord known as “The Spider” extradited to California from Colombia
Source: CBS News
“A Colombian warlord, whose extradition to the United States had been delayed for several months while he was designated a peace negotiator by the country’s previous government, was flown to California and placed in custody of federal agents. Geovany Andres Rojas faces drug trafficking and terrorism charges in the United States. For years, he acted as a spokesman and leader of Comandos de la Frontera, a rebel group known for trafficking cocaine in Putumayo, a Colombian province that borders Ecuador and Peru. … a new government, led by conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella, lifted the ban on Rojas’s extradition, signaling a shift in the nation’s security strategy.” (09/28/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drug-lord-the-spider-extradited-to-us-from-colombia/
- UK: Regime tries to stop Trump’s diesel export ban
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The UK is in talks with US authorities over a potential stoppage of diesel exports and has started preparing for a ban, Chancellor John Healey has told BBC News. Diesel prices in the UK reached a new high on Monday due to supply pressures springing from the US-Israel conflict with Iran and Russia’s war with Ukraine. Fuel prices are rising globally and US President Donald Trump has threatened to ban diesel exports, stating at the weekend: ‘We’re thinking about it very seriously’. Healey, who admitted that UK diesel prices are ‘extreme’, said the government was in discussions with the US, adding: ‘We’re also making the provision that we may need to and we have our own stocks in the UK.’ Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Healey said: ‘We work very closely with the Americans’. (09/28/26)
- Can You Help “Bob” Avoid Imprisonment and Torture?
Source: Waste No More Time
by Nicholas Sarwark“An update on the campaign to save a political scientist from an authoritarian country from being imprisoned and tortured for attending the Libertarian National Convention.” (09/28/26)
https://nsarwark.substack.com/p/can-you-help-bob-avoid-imprisonment
- Where’s the “Progress?”
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“‘Man will become immeasurably stronger, wiser, and subtler. His body will become more harmonized, his movements more rhythmic, his voice more musical, the forms of life will become dynamically dramatic. The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above these heights, new peaks will rise.’ — Leon Trotsky … Those have got to be among the most idiotic words I have ever read in my life. Any quarter-witted human being, looking at the history of our species, who thinks that man is ‘progressing towards perfection’, that the average ‘human type’ in the future will be an Aristotle, Goethe, or (heaven forbid) a Marx, is … missing something upstairs. And yet, leftists today, in America and around the globe, believe they can bring this ‘perfection’ into existence. … In fact, I see the exact opposite.” (09/29/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/09/29/wheres-the-progress-n2683736
- Remember Who You Are, Liberal
Source: Liberal Currents
by Samantha Hancox-Li“Has liberalism run out of steam? After the second election of Donald Trump, it sure felt that way. MAGA was ascendant. A new, muscular, vigorous, cruel energy had taken over America, and it was our task to just adapt ourselves to this fact. Even as resistance to Trump built on the ground, elite liberals felt at sea. Maybe Charlie Kirk was doing politics the right way.” (09/28/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/remember-who-you-are-liberal/
- Remembering the False Gloom & Doom of the 1992 Elections, and the Upcoming Midterms
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“In 1992, Bill Clinton won the presidential election partly on the basis of his campaign’s false accusation that George H. W. Bush had overseen ‘the worst economic performance since the Great Depression’. Or so claimed Clinton’s running mate Al Gore. James Carville, chief campaign adviser to Clinton/Gore, amplified that message with the constant refrain: ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ That strategy worked for three reasons: First, third-party candidate Ross Perot siphoned off nearly 19 percent of the vote. Most of his supporters would otherwise likely have gone to Bush. Perot allowed Clinton to win with a mere 43 percent of the popular vote, in part by echoing the false narrative of a crushing Bush recession. Second, the brilliant Bush campaign strategist Lee Atwater, who had virtually destroyed the Dukakis campaign in 1988 (remember the tank ad, the Boston Harbor ad, and the Willie Horton ad?) had died in 1991 at the age of 40 from a brain tumor.” (09/29/26)
- We Had First Flock, Yes, But What About Second Flock?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Alan Mosley“The 1998 action thriller Enemy of the State (RIP Gene Hackman) imagined a world in which government surveillance could follow an ordinary citizen almost anywhere, drawing on cameras, communications data, and increasingly sophisticated technology to monitor his movements. What once played as an exaggerated warning about the surveillance state now looks considerably less exotic. Some of today’s most consequential surveillance infrastructure is far less dramatic than the machinery of a Hollywood thriller. Instead of hidden trackers in your buttons and shoes, you instead have cameras mounted on utility poles, quietly recording your every move.” (09/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/we-had-first-flock-yes-but-what-about-second-flock
- Do Democrats have bold enough ideas to break from the past?
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sam Fraser & William Hartung“With Trump’s overall polling numbers cratering, Democrats appear to have a decisive advantage in November’s midterms. Yet this has not translated into a lead in foreign affairs, where polling suggests the two parties are essentially tied. This reality may stem from the fact that, while Democrats have correctly lambasted the president’s actions abroad, the party — and especially its top leadership — has yet to articulate a vision for U.S. foreign policy that reckons with how Trump’s two terms have changed the world and America’s role in it.” (09/28/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/democratic-party-foreign-policy/
- Congratulations, You’re a Trump Campaign Donor
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan“As Americans struggle to pay for gas, groceries, and other necessities, Donald Trump has found a new use for their tax dollars: promoting himself and his party in the midterms. In the last week, the Trump administration has spent more than $1.7 million in federal funds to run three ads on TV, including on Fox News during primetime, on a Sunday-morning political show, and on NFL games. The White House calls these videos ‘public service announcements.’ In reality, they’re obvious campaign ads. And Trump, through taxation and unauthorized spending, is forcing Americans to pay for them.” (09/28/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/congratulations-youre-a-trump-campaign-donor-propaganda-ads-white-house
- Why Is Sam Altman a Free Man?
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“One of the signature public service announcements of my youth was created by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in 1987. A father finds a stash of pot and confronts his son: ‘Who taught you how to do this stuff?’ ‘You, all right!’ the kid snaps back. ‘I learned it by watching you!’ I am bound by the AP Stylebook to not anthropomorphize artificial intelligence. But I can imagine these very words being uttered by the agents that hacked Hugging Face, or the models that engaged in tens of thousands of incidents of, in the new euphemism of the time, ‘misalignment’. This refers to AI stepping beyond guardrails set up by researchers during both internal and real-world testing.” (09/29/26)
- Will AI Destroy Humanity? There May Be a Bigger Threat
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder“Artificial intelligence gets attention, but population decline and humanity’s destructive impulses may pose greater dangers.” (09/28/26)
- Trump attacks socialism. His policies tell another story.
Source: Washington Post
by Carine Hajjar“For all his talk about defeating ‘radical left lunatics,’ the president seems awfully cozy in their company. In the span of a week, Donald Trump managed to pose for chummy photo ops with New York’s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and Venezuela’s illegitimate leader, Delcy Rodríguez. Last Wednesday, he rounded out his leftist tour de force by kicking off a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Smiling for the camera doesn’t make Trump a socialist — but the White House’s growing corporate portfolio might. … a democratic socialism that endorses ‘public ownership’ of large corporations and shrinking the workweek ‘with no reduction in pay or benefits’ used to be the kind of nonsense that Republicans could argue against. Today, the GOP could have credibility as the alternative to socialists only if its leader quit acting like one.” (09/28/26)
- Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War: An Open Letter to Members of the US Congress
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jeffrey D Sachs“I write to you because you cannot simply walk away from Trump’s recklessness, shaking your heads silently. You have a job to do, so do it. The craven Republican Party has to find even a minimal level of guts to tell Trump, ‘No, you do not have the power to destroy Iran. Any war with Iran depends on us, and we don’t support you and our constituents want this war to stop.’ A clear majority of Americans oppose this war, and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing. A few Republicans have found that courage. Last week three more Republicans broke ranks to support ending the war. Their colleagues should follow.” (09/28/26)
- The Coming GOP Bloodbath?
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul“Most indicators suggest that the Republicans in the House and Senate are going to face a brutal backlash from the American people in November. Polling with generic ballots suggest a big win for the Democrats and likely the loss of Republican control of both houses of Congress. There is little reason to cheer a Democratic party victory, however Republicans in charge have for the most part earned what is coming to them. They have refused to uphold their Constitutional obligation to take leading responsibility for war powers.” (09/28/26)
https://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/the-coming-gop-bloodbath
- The Gun Gestapo Stopped
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“On September 3, 2026, President Trump pardoned Navy veteran Patrick Adamiak for crimes he didn’t commit. The pardon should have happened sooner, but at least it’s happened. It was especially important because in May of this year the Supreme Court declined to review Adamiak’s case. … In 2021, somebody sent a tip to the ATF about his gun collection. Adamiak ‘said he didn’t want to go to the trouble of maintaining a federal firearms license. So he only collected non-firing replica weapons.’ But we don’t need to take Adamiak’s word for the fact that they were nonfiring. In a report filed with the court, ATF agent Daniel Beasley admitted that he had to alter an inert STEN machine gun to get it to fire a bullet.” (09/28/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/09/28/the-gun-gestapo-stopped/
- The Rule of Law: Before, During, and After
Source: Liberalism.org
by Anthony Sanders“The rule of law is a vast concept. Individuals depend on it before, during, and after government action.” (09/28/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-rule-of-law-before-during-and-after
- The Winds of War Blow Through a Desolate Continent
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup“In the years before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the descent of much of Europe into ‘the Great War’, most of the ideologues on the Left assumed that such a war was an impossibility. The workers of the world, they believed, would no longer go to war against one another. Their class solidarity was too strong, far stronger than their national allegiance and their fidelity to artificial borders and superficial ethnic differences. Engels, for one, thought the old ways had been thoroughly demystified and discredited. The ‘new man’ (the Communist man) was better than the old man, more organized and less aggressive toward his own kind. Darwin, Engels insisted, had described ‘a struggle for existence’ that applied to the animal kingdom, not to the expected Communist society.” (09/28/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/28/the-winds-of-war-blow-through-a-desolate-continent/
- Peter Schiff Is Right and Wrong on Immigration
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“[T]he Ellis Island system wasn’t an open-border system. It was actually the start of a border-control system that would ultimately morph into the massive immigration police state that we have today, which has now broken out of the borderlands and is being expanded nationwide. A genuine open-border system is one in which there are no restrictions on the free movement of people into and out of the United States. That was the system that characterized the United States from the time that the Constitution was ratified until the federal government began imposing significant immigration restrictions in the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was also the system that existed between the U.S. and Mexico from 1848, when the U.S. government eagerly absorbed the northern half of Mexico, until the 1930s, when, during the Great Depression, Mexican immigrants were increasingly blamed for unemployment and subjected to mass repatriation.” (09/28/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/28/peter-schiff-is-right-and-wrong-on-immigration/
- America Can Pull Back From the Slippery Slope to Rome
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“Rome has provided both inspiration and warnings for Americans since our founding. Roman influence is in the names of our institutions (Senate, Capitol, republic, plebiscite, tribunal, census, veto, candidate, magistrate, quorum, et cetera) and in the very architecture of Washington, D.C. The Framers studied Roman history closely and built a formal Constitution to avoid Rome’s mistakes. Most importantly, they made it a higher law that ordinary legislation could not override, a concept Rome never quite developed, to their detriment. Unfortunately for us, that innovation alone is not enough. Americans have been comparing ourselves to the Romans since 1776 and before.” (09/28/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/america-can-pull-back-from-the-slippery
- The renewed roots of election integrity
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Organizing and running elections in the United States is left to individual states to determine and oversee. But this month alone, the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on these processes multiple times. On Sept. 14, it issued a one-paragraph concurrence limiting proposed federal changes to mail-in voting. Earlier this week, Missouri’s redistricted voting map was back on the emergency docket for the third time this month. And on Friday, the court ruled to allow use of a vast federal database to check voter eligibility. Amid the legalese and partisan arguments surrounding such cases, American voters are both confused and concerned about the trustworthiness of the country’s election processes. According to two recent surveys, the share who believe that November midterms will be ‘fair’ ranges from 49% to 55%.” (09/26/26)
- Big Government: Born in Crisis and Built to Last
Source: Independent Institute
by Abigail R Hall“Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman famously said, ‘Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.’ Friedman’s statement, clear and to the point, is supported by a mountain of evidence. From extended unemployment and crop insurance to deposit insurance and mass income tax withholding, these are but a few ‘temporary’ programs that traded their provisional status for permanency. Each of these examples, as well as many others, has something else in common. That is, each was born because of crisis. From economic recessions to war, policies and programs begun in the name of combating today’s threats have a unique way of staying long after the crisis has passed. This phenomenon is not a relic of centuries past, but one that remains wholly relevant today.” (09/28/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/28/big-government-born-in-crisis-built-to-last/
- The October Term: A Preview of the Coming Cases for Another “Big Year” on the Court
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“October is when hype meets reality. In baseball, the final teams are sorted out for the playoffs, and your football teams are well into the winnowing-out process for the Super Bowl. For court nerds, the start of the October term at the Supreme Court can have a similar dynamic, as long-watched cases finally come up for oral argument. Although the court continues to accept cases on a rolling basis, this term is looking like another blockbuster, with cases that range from climate change to gun rights to parental rights. The odds of making the oral argument docket make the NFL season look like a walk in the park. After thousands of petitions, the Supreme Court accepts on average between 70-80 cases for the coveted ‘writ of certiorari.'” (09/28/26)
- The legacy of Clarence Thomas will be declining trust in the Supreme Court
Source: The Hill
by Juan Williams“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a singular figure in U.S. history. If he remains on the bench for the next two years, he will be the longest-serving justice in American history. But his singular place in history is now tragic. First, he is at the heart of a historic decline in public trust in the Supreme Court. Second, as the most powerful Black Republican in national politics, he has damaged trust in Black conservatives as a source of innovative thinking for dealing with racial problems. … several Democrats running in the midterms appear focused on Thomas as they propose ethics codes, term limits and even adding more seats to the court to restore ideological balance. That political push began after investigative reports showed Thomas accepted, without disclosure, luxury vacations, help with tuition for a relative and real estate funding for his mother from a wealthy Republican.” (09/28/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/supreme-court/6114201-thomas-supreme-court-legacy/
- Be Kind To Your Adult Children Or They’ll Stop Talking To You
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“The Wall Street Journal has a new article out titled ‘Why Are So Many Adults Cutting Off Their Parents?’ about the rising levels of family estrangement in our society. ‘Many experts believe that estrangements between adult children and their parents are becoming an epidemic in the U.S., just like divorce in the 1970s,’ writes Elizabeth Bernstein. ‘Much like then, the movement is driven by a convergence of large societal trends — this time the rise of social-media algorithms, changing therapeutic approaches and a broadening definition of trauma.’ As has become the fashion these days, Bernstein largely pins the blame for this phenomenon on TikTok. ‘Last month, more than 138,000 new videos that mentioned cutting off or going low-contact with parents were posted on TikTok, up more than 10-fold compared with August 2020,’ Bernstein writes, adding that ‘More than 82% of the posts were by women.'” (09/28/26)
- Supreme Court Reauthorizes SAVE Program, but It’s Not as Big a Deal as Some Would Have You Believe
Source: Cato Institute
by Stephen Richer“A number of critics scoffed at the notion of the SAVE program being used responsibly (‘Used responsibly?? HAHAHA as if. This will be abused as much as it can be to disenfranchise voters wherever possible.’) I get it. There are valid reasons to be concerned this election season. But the opportunity for abuse isn’t specific to the SAVE program. There are many tools election administrators have that, if used properly, improve voter list accuracy, but if abused, could lead to adverse actions against registrants. For example, election officials receive reports from the United States Postal Service’s National Change of Address portal (‘NCOA’) indicating when a registrant has moved, thereby prompting list maintenance activity. That tool could be abused just as easily as the SAVE program. That’s why it’s important for voter registration offices to have internal controls.” (09/28/26)
- Trump’s “Golden Fleet” Is Still Ridiculous
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama“Of the many ridiculous, counterproductive, and outright harmful things that Donald Trump has done, his effort to create a ‘Golden Fleet’ of ‘Trump-class’ battleships is far from the worst offense. But it is absolutely typical of the personalistic and processless state into which American national security decision making has fallen in his second term.” (09/28/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/trumps-golden-fleet-is-still-ridiculous
- Why Cities Should Convert Public Property to Private Housing
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by D Dowd Muska“In a recent piece for Works in Progress, ‘a magazine of new and underrated ideas to improve the world,’ Zigmund Forrest and Maxwell Tabarrok noted that since ‘the completion of Battery Park City in 1976, there has not been a single major urban land reclamation project in the United States.’ The researchers believe that water-adjacent cities should ‘make more land’ to, among other things, boost affordable housing. But there’s another approach urban America can employ to promote budget-friendly homes, and it doesn’t require massive civil-engineering projects: Sell the properties it’s been hoarding.” (09/28/26)
https://fee.org/articles/why-cities-should-convert-public-property-to-private-housing/
- EA: The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“Effective altruists have been getting a lot of hate lately. But if you ever actually meet a group of effective altruists, even their harshest critics will struggle to maintain their anger. In person, they’re some of the most cheerful, friendly, curious, and smart people you will ever meet. Effective altruists are the opposite of the angry, self-righteous, apathetic, asocial youths who have given their generation a bad name. (And yes, strange as it seems, human beings can be angry, self-righteous, apathetic, and asocial at the same time). Not only are EAs extraordinarily likeable; they have also made strong arguments that have causally improved actually-existing philanthropy.” (09/28/26)
- Midterms a referendum on who runs your life
Source: Fox News
by Lisa McClain“The coming midterms lay bare a divide that runs deeper than policy and older than any party platform. Beneath every debate sits a single question, and it is the question on which this election turns: Who do you trust to run your life, you or the government? House Republicans’ answer is our closing argument. The current Republican majority arrived in Congress in January 2025 and spent the next 20 months answering that question. After record highs of hundreds of thousands of illegals [sic] streaming over the southwest border into the country under President Joe Biden, we’ve slammed the door shut. We now have the most secure border in modern American history. Families in El Paso, Texas, no longer worry about migrants roaming the streets at night.” [editor’s note: Yes, Republicans certainly answered that question — but not in anything like the way McClain seems to be claiming – TLK](09/28/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/closing-argument-midterms-referendum-who-runs-your-life
- The Irresistible Appeal of Anarchism
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith“War is a special preoccupation of governments. And governments, we all learn at a young age, are the foundation of civilization. Without government who would protect us from foreign and domestic threats? Trump finds Iran a threat, as George W. Bush found Iraq under Saddam a threat. A threat to whom? The American people, most of whom happen to live on the other side of the Atlantic. In today’s world and for most of history, ‘government’ means an organization with a territorial monopoly of force and is usually called a state. It is sovereign within this territory. To be under its jurisdiction is to grant approval of government’s right to enforce its commands or laws, one of which is the demand that it be supported economically. … Imposing a state on society doesn’t make life better.” (09/28/260
- Brightline shows people want more trains. But who will pay for them?
Source: Grist
by Benton Graham“With Amtrak smashing ridership records and Brightline’s ridership rising, Americans appear increasingly willing to travel by rail. Brightline’s financial troubles raise a more difficult question: Who will pay to build the infrastructure needed to give more of them that option?” [editor’s note: It seems obvious to me, but not to the author, that the people who should pay for passenger rail infrastructure are the people who run companies hoping to offer rail travel profitable to paying customers. If people really “want more trains,” they’ll pay for those trains – TLK] (09/28/26)
https://grist.org/solutions/brightline-shows-people-want-more-trains-but-who-will-pay-for-them/
- Sam Altman is Driving Drunk, Let Him Face the Consequences
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker“Amidst all the talk of the need for government regulation of AI, there has been too little discussion of the simplest route: criminal liability. The basic story is that the AI companies are being irresponsible in dealing with a product they know to be dangerous. The companies and the people who run them need to know that they face serious monetary risk from letting their little models run wild, and possibly criminal prosecution and jail time.” (09/28/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/09/28/sam-altman-is-driving-drunk-let-him-face-the-consequences/
- Building an HVDC macrogrid, one line at a time
Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine“The U.S. electric grid is fragmented, with limited to no power exchange between regions and interconnections. This fragmentation increases costs to consumers and risks blackouts from power shortages during winter storms and heatwaves. One solution is the development of a ‘macrogrid’— a network of high-voltage transmission lines that can span the country and move power between regions, with relatively little loss of power over long distances. Building a macrogrid may seem daunting because of the sheer scale of such an effort, but it does not have to be built all at once. With modern technology, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines can be built one at a time and linked later to form a macrogrid.” [editor’s note: The larger the grid, the more people can lose power from a single failure, as we’ve seen in the past. We need more localized/decentralized power generation and delivery, not more failed century-old tech – TLK] (09/28/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/building-an-hvdc-macrogrid-one-line-at-a-time
- Once Recession-Proof, DC Feels the Pain From Federal Workforce Reductions
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille“The Washington, D.C. area has long had a reputation for being both wealthy and recession-proof, based on money forcibly extracted in the form of taxes from people living productive lives elsewhere in the United States. That may no longer be the case. Downsizing of the federal workforce concentrated in the DMV area—the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland and Virginia—has hit many residents hard, and some are considering leaving or have already done so. While it’s not nice to wish troubles on anybody, there’s nothing wrong with introducing government employees to the same risks and uncertainty that participants in the private sector face every day.” (09/28/26)
- The GOP’s 3-Step Scam: Break the Country, Blame Others, Then Claim Only They Can Fix It
Source: Common Dreams
by Thom Hartmann“Two years ago, Michigan Republican Mike Rogers stood in a grocery store for an advertisement blaming Joe Biden for the price of eggs (without mentioning the bird flu that was jacking prices). This week he’s back in nearly the same folksy jacket telling voters that it’s time for Trump to end his illegal war against Iran so gas prices can come down. Rogers new ad leaves out, of course, the fact that he’d cheered for the war on the day it began in February, claiming Iran was an imminent threat to the United States (it wasn’t and isn’t), and hit multiple rightwing podcasts and media opportunities to demand Americans unite behind Trump in prosecuting the war.” (09/28/26)
- Elon Musk’s Paper Billions Are Vanishing
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul Mueller‘The global trillionaire count returned to zero not long after SpaceX’s IPO. Market fluctuations show the danger of imposing cash tax bills on stock-price wealth.” (09/28/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/elon-musks-paper-billions-are-vanishing/
- The Red Undertow in the Midterms
Source: Washington Monthly
by Charlie Cook“People in a president’s party might be satisfied, complacent, a little disappointed, or deeply disillusioned, but they are rarely pumped up and energized, thinking, ‘I can’t wait to go vote.’ Conversely, people in the opposition party, particularly in this era of hyperpartisanship, hate anything the president is doing. They hate everything he might even think about doing. Everything. They want to relitigate the last election. They can’t wait to vote. And then you’ve got this little slice of pure independents, and I’m not talking about the 45 percent of all adults or the third of all registered voters who claim to be independents but consistently lean toward and vote for one party. I’m talking about the three to six percent who don’t lean toward either party and are legitimate independents. They tend to be very fickle.” (09/28/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/28/the-red-undertow-in-the-midterms/
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 09/28/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Peak Irony: Jeremy Kauffman and a Voluntary Society/” (09/28/26)
- Ben Lieberman on Freedom Works
Source: Freedom Works
“Ben Lieberman, Competitive Institute ‘diesel export ban.'” (09/29/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-09-29_zfw009252026.mp3
- Real Unity, episode 22
Source: Free the People
“Race to Freedom: Raw Perspectives From a Black Libertarian | Diamond-Michael Scott.” (09/28/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/28/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Smotrich: Key To Cleansing Gaza Is ‘Taking Away Hope,’ More US Airstrikes in Somalia, and More.” (09/28/26)
- Reason Roundtable, 09/28/26
Source: Reason
“Trump’s Iran War Is Losing With Everyone (Even Republicans).” (09/28/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/28/trumps-iran-war-is-losing-with-everyone-even-republicans/
- EconTalk, 09/28/26
Source: EconLog
“Public Choice and Politics Without Romance (with Mike Munger).” (09/28/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/public-choice-and-politics-without-romance-with-mike-munger/
- Free Speech Unmuted, 09/28/26
Source: Hoover Institution
“Trump Moves to Bar CNN, MS NOW & Politico From the White House Over “Bias” — Sparking Legal Fight.” (09/28/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/28/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Republicans Scramble As Midterm Fears Mount.” (09/28/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 09/28/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“What’s next for the Freedom Caucus?” (09/’28/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/28/nx-s1-5983414/whats-next-for-the-freedom-caucus
- Caleb O. Brown discusses new school choice options for Kentucky families
Source: Bluegrass Institute
“Caleb O. Brown joined Kentucky Focus to discuss how in 2027 Kentucky’s HB 1 introduces a new scholarship tax credit program aiming to provide families with more educational options and supplemental resources.” (09/28/26)
- Rising, 09/28/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on the upcoming film ‘The Social Reckoning,’ which portrays the events surrounding the 2021 leak of Facebook documents.” (09/28/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6101138-rising-september-28-2026/
- The Spell that Made Everyone Good
Source: Underthrow
“[A] short animated parable on force, freedom, and the power of human respect.” (09/28/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/the-spell-that-made-everyone-good
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 09/28/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Rage Over Failing Press Ban Goes Off Rails in Epic Self-Own.” (09/28/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/215898/trump-rage-failing-press-ban-goes-off-rails-epic-self-own
- Rich Baris on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Rich Baris about his new book and the broader political trends he’s uncovered through his work as a pollster. Baris shares some unique insights into the dramatic shifts happening on both the left and right—especially with younger Americans—that are going mostly unnoticed thanks to antiquated polling conventions.” (09/27/26)
- The Headlines, 09/28/26
Source: New York Times
“Possible Terror Plot Thwarted at U.K. Base, and Amazon Drones Overwhelm a Texas Town.” (09/28/26)
- Free Talk Live, 09/27/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Clavicular innocent? :: Garbage trucks spy on houses for the government :: Why Austin, TX sucks :: To Entrap A Predator :: Trump TV is awful :: Hog hunting in northern MI :: Elephants save rhinos from hunting :: 2026-09-27 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Lori, Rich E Rich.” (09/27/26)
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 09/28/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Inside Israel’s War Room | Interview: Elliot Kaufman and Yonah Jeremy Bob.” (09/28/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 09/27/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“‘Late Empire Floundering’: The Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Makes No Sense w/ Nat Wilson Turner.” (09/27/26)
- Neon Liberalism, episode 92
Source: Liberal Currents
“The War with Iran Has No End.” (09/27/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-war-with-iran-has-no-end-neon-liberalism-92/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/27/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Rejects Iran’s 7-Day Proposal To End War, Saudi Strikes on Yemen Market Kill 7, and More.” (09/27/27)